Otherness

Joseph Stowell, one of my favorite radio pastors, spent a whole series of radio broadcasts talking about the christian sense of "otherness". That strong feeling from inside that God has set us apart. Our view of the world, of life, our values are "other" than the way the world sees things. Imagine my surprise, then, as I'm reading a new book called "Pen on Fire a busy woman's guide to igniting the writer within", when I run across the chapter called 'celebrate your otherness'!! She talks about writers feeling as if they are on the periphery of life, observers, detached wishing to blend in but always somehow removed. I almost jumped up and down at the description. Yes Yes Yes! I want to celebrate that as a Christian. Having that sense that God has put me here for a reason (sometimes I have no clue what that is) but still having that odd sense that I get that I really don't fit. My view of things is skewed but it is not such a wrong thing. "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you..." (jn 15:19)

Enjoy the ice, snow and storm. Stay warm

What's the weather going to be?

Need to take a trip? Have plans out doors? Need the weatherman to be accurate? I hear the weather this weekend is supposed to be lousy. And I need to travel to Sioux City for the day tomorrow, though I don't relish that thought if the weather is going to be bad. So I dug out the weather prophets to see what they have to say. Maybe they will be wrong like they often are. Believe me, there are plenty of sayings out there. Not much about a snow or ice storm, though. Let's see which one fits??

• A year of snow, a year of plenty." or Year of snow, fruit will grow...
• Red Sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning."
• When clouds look like rocks and towers,the earth will be refreshed by showers
• A cow with it's tail to the west, makes weather the best, A cow with it's tail to the east, makes weather the least. (this actually refers to clouds)
• If the rooster crows on going to bed, rise with a watery head!
• If crows fly low, winds are going to blow..or if crow flies high wind is going to die.
• A sunshiny shower won't last half an hour
• A rainbow at noon more rain soon.
• If it's cold in February summer will be pleasant. (This one should work for us this year)

Whether it's cold or whether it's hot we shall have weather whether or not!

Wake up! Sun's up

These beautiful mornings I've finally started to notice the sunrise again, and the fact that it's actually staying up longer in the evenings. Went to work the other evening and whereas before it would have been dark when I went (5pm) now it's still light outside. Hurrah! But this morning's sunrise was beyond beautiful. It was awesome. So I have a few shots for all you sleepy heads that were still in bed!! Enjoy.

It's Not about Me... Are you sure?

Here's a bit from Max Lucado in It's Not About Me on the 3rd Commandment. What? you don't remember it? It's the one that says "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in Vain" Did you grow up knowing that it meant you shouldn't swear or use foul language by saying the name of God as an expletive? I did. But Lucado challenges us to look at it differently. Look at it In a way that should make us as Christians squirm. He says "Don't think language, think lifestyle. He tells a story about a daughter of an executive who takes advantage of her position. Putting her father's employees in uncomfortable and compromising positions, making them and her father look bad, and making everyone miserable by use of her position. The boss's child dishonoring the father not with vulgar language but with insensitive living. On the other hand think about it in the opposite light. Reverse the whole process and have the daughter living in a way that in every sense makes people not only think highly of her but of her father as well. She lives in a way that reflects her father's heart." Lucado encourages us in every way to make our lives show our father's heart and intentions in the best of ways. A keeping of that 3rd commandment. This fits right in with all that I've been reading in my Blue like Jazz adventure. To escape the clutches of self centered thinking and to think of someone else more highly than myself and in that way let my lifestyle be a pure sweet language for the King! (thanks Lynn)

The winter garden

Everything's in waiting right now. The silence does not mean that nothing is happening. Because we don't see the life below does not mean it's not there. Soon. Soon. We'll see the life show itself above and we'll rejoice in it!

Blue like Jazz...again

So, every half page that I'm reading in Don Miller's book and I have to stop and re read. Then re read and process. He's saying what I have felt in my heart so many times, and I've not been able to verbalize. I am amazed. I guess this would be the point where I should start a book study or something but I have a blog so here I am again. Writing about this amazing book Blue Like Jazz....

I have been 'doing' women's ministry with our church for a couple of years now and sometimes I get pretty depressed about my performance with it. It's probably not a good idea for me to go into detail here, but let it be said that I haven't done the best job or perhaps even been the best person at this. Oh, sure, I'm organized and can run a meeting and plan events but so far nothing has been what could be considered a rousing success. Even I have suspected that it's because I haven't a heart for it. One warm summer evening we (the team) sat out on my back porch and after a fabulous devotion and prayer time, committed to each other that we would go on a fast of all things negative. In other words, we would only think, say and do kind, good, christian things to all those that crossed our paths daily. I remember being exhilerated by the challenge. This was exactly what I needed to get myself out of my ugly funk. I laugh at that week now. I don't think I managed even an hour. I worked at it for a few days before giving up. And then I read this from Don Miller:

"I found myself trying to love the right things without God's help and it was impossible. I tried to go one week without thinking a negative thought about another human being and I couldn't do it. Before I tried that experiment, I thought I was a nice person, but after trying it, I realized I thought bad things about people all day long and that, my natural desire was to love darkness. My answer to my dilema was self discipline. I figured I could just make myself do good things, think good thoughts about other poeple, but that was no easier than walking up to a complete stranger and falling in love with them. I could go through the motions for awhile, but sooner or later my heart would testify to its truer love: darkness."

I know he's not writing this to offer me an excuse for my behavior, even though it was only my thoughts. He's telling me in a way that I clearly understand, I am not in control. The sin nature goes all the way through. I can stop pretending any time now. Not that I should be out behaving without restraint. I have to recognize that God and His grace alone has reached in and loved me despite the darkness inside me. What can I do but love a God like this, who really knows and understands me? And because of that kind of love, I must, I am compelled to reach out to my fellow traveller and share this amazing good news. Wow.

Blue Like Jazz

I have a hard time reading some Christian literature..fiction especially. I hate flat characters, or maybe more importantly, characters who act better than I ever even think about. But I heard rumors about a book that I thought I would give a chance. And it's not even fiction (my favorite kind) It's Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. I read the first paragraph and I was hooked. I tried reading it out loud today. Twice. Both times I had to stop as my voice got caught up somewhere in my throat, and all of a sudden there were tears. Hate that.

Beginnings

God on a dirt road walking toward me

I once listened to an Indian on Televsion say that God was in the wind and the water, and I wondered at how beautiful that was because it meant you could swim in Him or have Him brush your face in a breeze. I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity, and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seemed God was down a dirt road, walking toward me. Years ago He was a swinging speck in the distance; now He is close enough I can hear His singing. Soon I will see the lines on His face.

Maybe it's because I'm older now, and I know just exactly what Miller means by these lines. It seems that God is coming into focus more and more every day. He seems more real to me and the more real I am about who i am the clearer I have been able to see Him. It brings joy and peace and a sense of comfort to my life when sometimes I feel the struggle mightily.

There will be more here later. For it has given me lots to think about and I'd really like to talk to y'all about this.